A recent Irish Universities Nutritional Alliance (IUNA) dietary survey has found that 94% of Irish teenagers have insufficient daily vitamin D intakes, whilst 51% fail to consume the recommended dietary calcium intake.

The national dairy council (NDC) has highlighted the role dairy products can play in correcting nutrient deficiencies in adolescents after the publishing of the survey results.

Dr Janette Walton of Munster Technological University said: “We were particularly concerned to see such high levels of inadequate intakes of key bone health nutrients such as calcium and vitamin D.

“Our calcium needs are at their highest between the ages of nine and 18 years as we lay down our bone mass, with vitamin D needed to absorb calcium.

“Consuming enough calcium and vitamin D during the teenage years is essential, therefore, to help our bodies to build the strongest bones they possibly can,” she explained.

The survey had a sample size of 428 Irish teenagers aged from 13 to 18.

Healthy diet

The study found that milk and yoghurt currently supply 27% of recommended daily calcium intakes to teenagers.

This figure was reported by the NDC to have come from just one daily intake of this class of dairy products, comprising less than a single serving of milk. This serving most often was consumed as part of a beverage or with breakfast cereal.

The Department of Health guidelines recommend five servings from the ‘milk, yogurt and cheese’ food group for those aged nine to18, with three servings recommended at the other stages of life.

The survey also found inadequate intakes of vitamin C, riboflavin, vitamin B6 and vitamin A among teenagers.